Words: David Dowsey
Pics: Ellen Dewar
Unique Cars
There are plenty of models and variants, and let's be honest, a few duds mixed in there too, but there is no other nameplate in the motoring world that spins heads, raises heart rates or turns people dizzy the way that Mustang does.
That's why we at Unique Cars are proud to unveil our latest giveaway car; this gorgeous 1965 Fastback Mustang, one of the definitive machines of the muscle car generation. Just take your eyes off the words for a minute (and our lovely cheerleader for that matter) and glue your eyeballs to the bodywork of this baby.
That line from the top of the windscreen, along the roof and down to the tail; da Vinci couldn't have penned a better one. Now that we think of it; he didn't! That tough stance, the way the chrome 'Styles' fill out the wheel arches and the way the headlights bookend that lovely broad grille. It's just so right. So it should really come as no surprise that the Fastback Mustang is one of the all-time great collectables.
Our Giveaway Mustang was sourced in the US by Unique Cars' Editorial Assistant Phil Walker, Australia's walking, talking Mustang guru. By his own admission buying an ex-Hertz Shelby 350GT several years ago opened up a lot of doors in the US and one of the contacts he made was with master Mustang restorer Brian Lee of Classic Motorsport in Orangevale, California.
"He's expensive but he's good," says Walker of Lee's renowned work. "You are privileged if he restores your Mustang."
Walker asked Lee to source UC's next Giveaway car after a long and fruitless search across California. Luckily the previous owner of 'our' Fastback of eight years, Ron Dumas, happened to be in touch with Lee around this time admitting that after its restoration three years earlier he had hardly driven the car and that he wanted to sell it.
"Lee said to me that he hadn't seen the car for three years but that it was very good," says Walker. "It came up from San Diego and I first saw it at Brian's workshop. It had been kept in pristine condition in a humidified 'cacoon' in the owner's garage.
"First impressions were that the colour, the wheels, the car's stance; it had a lot of 'wow' factor. I lifted the bonnet and the aluminium heads, the bright chrome work; it looked fantastic. The gaps were very good, it hadn't been in an accident; it was a winner. The colour, similar to the GT Falcon's Vermillion Fire, really turns heads.
"Despite what people think they are not easy to find; up to my standards anyway. It was nothing for me to drive 500miles to go and see a car that had been described as excellent only to find that it was ready for the scrap heap," admits Walker.
"Unique Cars is very fortunate that my friend Ron in San Francisco is willing to drive around with me looking at cars. As an ex-Highway Patrol Policeman he knows all the short cuts and he can get me out of trouble too, so that's really good."
But while Walker recalls an enjoyable trip State-side it did have its frustrations.
"I rang a guy who lived up near Monterey (California). He said that his car, a '65 Fastback, hadn't been driven for about 12 years. When I arrived at his house he took me out the back to his barn and asked me to stand back. 'I haven't opened up the barn for a while,' he warned.
"Well I'm glad he asked me to move because when he pulled the doors back these huge rats came running out at me. Later when I had a look at the car I saw rats sitting inside chewing up the upholstery. Inside the boot were five to six rats chewing away. Well that was a waste of time; it took me and Ron nine hours to travel there and back. I think I went to see 13-14 cars while I was over in the US and this one here is by far the best."
Restorer Brian Lee takes up the story: "We started with a very original solid two-barrel 289 C Code Fastback," he says. "We then did a full front-to-rear resto in 2003, every nut and bolt. The car was repainted the original Poppy Red PPG paint and we added the optional GT stripes.
"We bored the original 289ci engine .30 over, put on Edelbrock aluminium heads, manifold and 650cfm carburettor and topped it off with a competition hydraulic camshaft and roller rockers."
Balanced and blueprinted, and hooked up to a T5 manual tranny, the engine now delivers around 325bhp (242kW) which is a handy increase over the standard two-barrel 289's original 200bhp (149kW). The addition of Try Y headers with 2.5inch pipes and GT tips ensure the appropriate noises are made out the back.
Sitting on tough 15x7 Style steel wheels wrapped in fat BF Goodrich tyres the Fastback features an all-new suspension set up to Shelby specs including lowered upper A-arms, 620lb front springs, 1.0inch sway bar and KYB gas shockers all-round. A heavy duty four-row radiator, all-wheel disc brakes (replacing the original drums) and power steering have been added to ease the burden in modern traffic.
When the Fastback landed in Oz Walker had it serviced and fettled and he gave it a thorough detail leaving the bodywork and chrome gleaming and the engine purring. When he bought the Fastback into Unique Cars' mansion-like digs we all had a gawk, of course. Only problem is, we don't want it to go.
For details on how to win our '65 Mustang valued at $60,000, buy the latest edition of Unique Cars and send in the original entry forms, or subscribe for more chances to win.
Pics: Ellen Dewar
Unique Cars
There are plenty of models and variants, and let's be honest, a few duds mixed in there too, but there is no other nameplate in the motoring world that spins heads, raises heart rates or turns people dizzy the way that Mustang does.
That's why we at Unique Cars are proud to unveil our latest giveaway car; this gorgeous 1965 Fastback Mustang, one of the definitive machines of the muscle car generation. Just take your eyes off the words for a minute (and our lovely cheerleader for that matter) and glue your eyeballs to the bodywork of this baby.
That line from the top of the windscreen, along the roof and down to the tail; da Vinci couldn't have penned a better one. Now that we think of it; he didn't! That tough stance, the way the chrome 'Styles' fill out the wheel arches and the way the headlights bookend that lovely broad grille. It's just so right. So it should really come as no surprise that the Fastback Mustang is one of the all-time great collectables.
Our Giveaway Mustang was sourced in the US by Unique Cars' Editorial Assistant Phil Walker, Australia's walking, talking Mustang guru. By his own admission buying an ex-Hertz Shelby 350GT several years ago opened up a lot of doors in the US and one of the contacts he made was with master Mustang restorer Brian Lee of Classic Motorsport in Orangevale, California.
"He's expensive but he's good," says Walker of Lee's renowned work. "You are privileged if he restores your Mustang."
Walker asked Lee to source UC's next Giveaway car after a long and fruitless search across California. Luckily the previous owner of 'our' Fastback of eight years, Ron Dumas, happened to be in touch with Lee around this time admitting that after its restoration three years earlier he had hardly driven the car and that he wanted to sell it.
"Lee said to me that he hadn't seen the car for three years but that it was very good," says Walker. "It came up from San Diego and I first saw it at Brian's workshop. It had been kept in pristine condition in a humidified 'cacoon' in the owner's garage.
"First impressions were that the colour, the wheels, the car's stance; it had a lot of 'wow' factor. I lifted the bonnet and the aluminium heads, the bright chrome work; it looked fantastic. The gaps were very good, it hadn't been in an accident; it was a winner. The colour, similar to the GT Falcon's Vermillion Fire, really turns heads.
"Despite what people think they are not easy to find; up to my standards anyway. It was nothing for me to drive 500miles to go and see a car that had been described as excellent only to find that it was ready for the scrap heap," admits Walker.
"Unique Cars is very fortunate that my friend Ron in San Francisco is willing to drive around with me looking at cars. As an ex-Highway Patrol Policeman he knows all the short cuts and he can get me out of trouble too, so that's really good."
But while Walker recalls an enjoyable trip State-side it did have its frustrations.
"I rang a guy who lived up near Monterey (California). He said that his car, a '65 Fastback, hadn't been driven for about 12 years. When I arrived at his house he took me out the back to his barn and asked me to stand back. 'I haven't opened up the barn for a while,' he warned.
"Well I'm glad he asked me to move because when he pulled the doors back these huge rats came running out at me. Later when I had a look at the car I saw rats sitting inside chewing up the upholstery. Inside the boot were five to six rats chewing away. Well that was a waste of time; it took me and Ron nine hours to travel there and back. I think I went to see 13-14 cars while I was over in the US and this one here is by far the best."
Restorer Brian Lee takes up the story: "We started with a very original solid two-barrel 289 C Code Fastback," he says. "We then did a full front-to-rear resto in 2003, every nut and bolt. The car was repainted the original Poppy Red PPG paint and we added the optional GT stripes.
"We bored the original 289ci engine .30 over, put on Edelbrock aluminium heads, manifold and 650cfm carburettor and topped it off with a competition hydraulic camshaft and roller rockers."
Balanced and blueprinted, and hooked up to a T5 manual tranny, the engine now delivers around 325bhp (242kW) which is a handy increase over the standard two-barrel 289's original 200bhp (149kW). The addition of Try Y headers with 2.5inch pipes and GT tips ensure the appropriate noises are made out the back.
Sitting on tough 15x7 Style steel wheels wrapped in fat BF Goodrich tyres the Fastback features an all-new suspension set up to Shelby specs including lowered upper A-arms, 620lb front springs, 1.0inch sway bar and KYB gas shockers all-round. A heavy duty four-row radiator, all-wheel disc brakes (replacing the original drums) and power steering have been added to ease the burden in modern traffic.
When the Fastback landed in Oz Walker had it serviced and fettled and he gave it a thorough detail leaving the bodywork and chrome gleaming and the engine purring. When he bought the Fastback into Unique Cars' mansion-like digs we all had a gawk, of course. Only problem is, we don't want it to go.
For details on how to win our '65 Mustang valued at $60,000, buy the latest edition of Unique Cars and send in the original entry forms, or subscribe for more chances to win.
